Battle of Arcole

The Battle of Arcole (15-17 November 1796) was a major battle of the Italian Campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars that saw Napoleon Bonaparte and the 20,000-strong French Armee d'Italie defeat a larger Austrian army of 24,000 troops under Jozsef Alvinczi and Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich. The Austrians aimed to relieve the siege of the Austrian stronghold of Mantua, and Bonaparte sought to threaten the Austrian supply lines by capturing Arcole. Bonaparte and his forces crossed the Adige River to assault the left flank of Alvinczi's army at Arcole, seeking to prevent him from linking up with General Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser's Mantua garrison. The French positioned themselves in the marshland between Alvinczi's army in Belfiore and Quosdanovich's army in Arcole, and the French managed to intercept and rout several regiments of Alvinczi's army as they marched towards Arcole, with many Austrian troops being mown down as they were mired down in the marshes. The French managed to destroy Alvinczi's army before it could cross the Bridge of Arcole into the town, and the French launched a flank attack: while four regiments launched a head-on assault against the Austrians over the bridge, six more launched an attack across the Adige River and attacked the Austrian right flank. The Austrians were overwhelmed after a melee onslaught, and the French emerged victorious. Mantua's fall followed the victory at Arcole, and Bonaparte became a hero.